David P

GYCB Double Tail grubs, Reaction Innovations DBL Beaver, Paca Chunks, Pork, Brush hogs.

The price will definitely go up. they sell for $170 shipped to your door on ebay...

I'd say play it safe and just return it if it's not too much of a hassle to you. Better safe then sorry. If you pay $200 , you should be 100% happy with it and no concerns.

I have several cuts in my finger from keeping my finger on the line when I set the hook. Sometimes things happen so quickly, there's no time to take my finger off the line. Braid also has a terrible tendency to dig into itself. Sometimes you'll go to cast, and it won't go because the line has dug into the spool too much. It's highly visible, although this is one thing I'd be willing to give up if the other 2 weren't such a problem.

for that very reason, I'd surely go with the STX. Stick with the same reel, that way when you set one rod and reel down, you pick up another that feels the exact same. Takes no adjusting or anything.

15lb Pline fluorocarbon - Senkos / T-Rigged worms 20lb Pline fluorocarbon - Jigs 50lb braid and 8-12lb line for drop shotting and shaky head

I didn't say it to be hurtful, I stated simply what size the fish looked. I've caught many 3 and 4lb fish that look exactly that size.

That fish could have gone 10, but for someone like me, if I don't know for sure, I wouldn't be able to call it a DD just cause I dont' know for sure. I'd call it 9 1/2.

Hey not to hijack the thread, but I almost purchased a kistler rod last month, but the warranty told me to do otherwise. Can anyone explain exactly how their warranty works? Sounds like the first year is covered, but after that, you have to ship the rod to them, and they'll let you know how much $$ to replace it. There's no lifetime expedited service like Loomis, Powell, Dobyns, St Croix, etc?

Fish looks 3lbs, 4lbs would even be pushing it. I don't think it could POSSIBLY be even close to 10lbs. Regardless of cameras making fish look bigger or smaller, cameras dont' do magic tricks.

Senkos.

That sucks, Call TW again, tell them to PLEASE personally inspect the next rod before they ship it out. That shouldn't be happening, especially from loomis. Maybe an entire batch of their rods was damaged and they didn't realize it..?

I don't know much about the Patriarch, but I love my STX. I think it depends what you're going to use the rod for. I got my STX because of the 24lbs of drag. I use it for HEAVY HEAVY cover fishing in weeds and tullys, so it was a huge buying point for me.

Throw it on 15-20lb fluorocarbon, might help you save a few.

I'm not sure why exactly *** put their Curado on sale, but they were going for $120 . $120 for the Curado 100D is an awesome price. Unfortunately they're out, but other stores might start doing that.... I'm really not sure. Might want to wait a bit.

Many companies put what techniques are best suited for each rod. Dobyns and Powell rods do this.

d**n dude! Sure don't want that spot exposed!

Goooooooooogle

Beaver and Tube

I've fished very stained dirty water with a 6inch visibility with jigs and no rattle. Whether or not they "hurt your chances" I dont' know, but you definitely don't need them.

Life is just so hard. Isn't it! For a while I was fishing 5-6 days a week, it got to be too much coming home every night and writing it down!

Having a few split grips, and a few non split grips the advantages are clear. There really aren't any. Having said that, No FRONT GRIP is an advantage. Having direct contact with the blank instead of touching cork, does add to sensitivity. A few of my rods have a full bottom grip and no front grip. That's my favorite.

The banjo minnow works just as good as a Zoom Super Fluke, but more expensive and tougher to find. The one thing I like about the banjo minnow is the exposed hook, instead of Tex posing the hook on a fluke. Other then that, they're very similar, but the fluke is cheaper and easier to find. I've had 30 fish days on the Banjo Minnow, biggest being only 5lbs 4oz.

I kept a log on my computer for the first 3 months this year. But it got to be too much so I just gave it up. Too many 2-4lb fish to write about. Now I only enter it in the log if the fish is over 5lbs. I write the Date / Weight / Location / Bait

Got one.